Redemption
by PurpleRose15
Summary: People often told her that she was too harsh. But could she help her demeanor? A look into Angela's thoughts as Jim and Pam prepare to get married...and what the cameras didn't capture between Pam and Angela in the hotel.


On the night before her wedding, Pam Beesly left her hotel room looking for an adventure. After all, it was her last night of freedom and she wanted to have a good time with it. She gave a sneaky look to the cameras and let them follow her.

She might have found out where she was going had she not run into Angela on her way.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Pam stared. "I was just gonna go down to the hotel bar for a little bit."

"Well, why don't I just save you some time and kick you in the stomach instead?"

Pam suddenly had an intense urge to do the same to Angela, but she kept composure. "I just wanted to get out of my room for a little while."

Angela didn't believe her. "Mmhmm. Okay. I'll go with you. Come on."

Pam sighed. She really didn't want her evening dampened by the wet blanket that was Angela. "Never mind." She began heading back to her room.

"Are you sure? Could be fun," Angela said, in a tone that didn't suggest _fun_ at all.

"Yup. No."

"Well, if you're indecent enough to get pregnant before you're married, someone has to watch out for you. Come on."

Something inside Pam snapped. How many times had she tried to be nice to Angela, and how many of those times had she actually been successful? It was too late for niceties.

"You know what? I meant it when I said you didn't have to come to the wedding this morning. And now I'm not sure I want you there."

Angela smirked. "Really, Pam?"

Pam refused to back down. "You heard me. Go."

Angela couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all this, Pam, the receptionist with the provocative skirts and bastard child, was telling her what to do? Yet somehow, she couldn't bring herself to argue. She tried to form a feeble argument anyway.

"Excuse me? I'm only trying to protect... _that_ child from absorbing its' mother's unhealthy behavior."

"And I'm hearing this from a woman who dated, let's see, _two_ unmarried men at once," Pam shot back. "I'm listening to a whore lecture me about good behavior. That makes sense." She walked away before Angela could make any other remarks.

And with that, Angela stormed back to her room. She finished packing her things in such a hurry that she didn't even realize that tears were filling her eyes. She didn't know where she was going, but she certainly couldn't be here any longer.

Back in the safety of her room, Pam inhaled sharply. Had she gone too far?

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What was wrong with her?

Angela had been sitting in her car for the past fifteen minutes letting the tears freely fall. She really ought to leave- Pam was right, her remarks were uncalled for. All Angela was doing was trying to save Pam's baby from a trip to the bar (or wherever she was headed, which was surely unhealthy for pregnant women), but maybe she'd been a bit harsh. People often told her that she was too harsh. But could she help her demeanor?

She couldn't understand how her life had gone to shambles in the past few months. She, along with her siblings, were raised to be good Christian girls. But as she constantly failed to live up to her parents' expectations, things started to spiral downhill and away from her control. Now she was the victim of a love triangle and an unwanted guest at a coworker's wedding, exiled from an acquaintance's day of happiness because she wasn't appreciated.

Where was Dwight when you needed to talk to him, anyway? Probably kissing up to Michael somewhere, not caring about where she was at this moment. The boss was more important. _Ugh._

Dwight.

As soon as his name entered her head, Angela sobbed harder. She thought of the dinner they just had and how Jim and Pam were beaming, taking in the attention…and _approval_ …from their friends and family. They were on their way to a happy life together and nobody cared about her. She and Dwight weren't even on speaking terms anymore, and the idea of that made her heart give an unpleasant lurch. And even when they were together, her coworkers looked at her as someone who was unfaithful. When they looked at Jim and Pam, they were nothing but supportive.

Could Pam do any wrong? She got along with everyone in the office, had a wonderful (not that Angela would admit it) romantic partner, had a child on the way, and certainly had the sense to stay out of a love triangle. Was Pam even Christian? Angela understood that being a Christian meant that the world wouldn't always appreciate you. But did that mean that people always had to look down on her?

She, Angela the good Christian girl, was now single and unhappy, the victim of a love triangle that she herself had started. What was she _doing_? She didn't even _like_ Andy with his trashy acapella group and his homosexual dress sense. She may never get a happy ending, and it was all her fault. Nobody else was to blame. She was so desperate for attention and to make Dwight jealous that she never considered the consequences.

She _was_ a whore. Pam was right, for once.

Her phone buzzed, and she went to pick it up. It was her best cat sitter, Margo, probably sending an hourly update of what Princess Lady was up to. She couldn't simply ignore her cats for the sake of a _wedding,_ especially a wedding she didn't particularly want to be at. Brushing the tears from her eyes, Angela saw a picture of her favorite cat, with a text from Margo. As she read the text, Angela felt that they were soul sisters in cat lady-hood again:

 **Sending kitty kisses! I can't wait for Mommy to come home! –Princess Lady**

Angela couldn't help smiling. Leave it to Princess Lady to say the right thing. If she couldn't do anything else right, at least she could be a good mother to her cats.

The she remembered a quote she heard somewhere. "Be the person your cat thinks you are." How would Princess Lady feel if she saw Mommy getting herself kicked out of a wedding?

Even if she couldn't redeem her love life, she could still redeem herself. She got out of the car and started to unpack.

It was silly, really. There were more important things in life than a child born out of wedlock. God accepted everyone, and so should Angela. He had not condemned her after her love affair, after all.

Briskly, she walked through the parking lot...past a screaming Andy? Carried by Erin and Kelly? Good heavens, people in her workplace could be so unjustified. She had _dated_ him, for Pete's sake!...and into her room.

Then again, she could be unjustified too.

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The next day, the wedding went off without a hitch. As Angela watched Jim and Pam seal the deal, she couldn't help smiling. Her day would come. Until then, she had her Princess Lady. There was still love in her life, even if it was...untraditional.

As the reception commenced, she felt herself approached by Meemaw. "I don't know about you, but I think they're the best newfangled couple a grandmother could ask for.'' Angela simply smiled and nodded. That Meemaw. She was great, and knew what values were. But even Meemaw had to let her hair down once in a while, let go of judgment, and be supportive.

Angela could get better at this. She could and needed to. She'd already had to say an extra prayer for forgiveness after rudely judging Andy last night, so the time couldn't be more right. Her time for redemption was now.

 **Hello people and thank you for reading my first foray into Office fanfiction! The idea came upon me after I watched Niagara Part 1. Wasn't Angela a horror? (Actually, I don't like Angela in most episodes, but this was especially awful.) I hope this story makes her at least a little more sympathetic. I'm aware there may be contradictions in here somewhere, but a revised version may show up here somewhere in the future. I had so many thoughts I wanted to put into Angela's head. Obviously Angela never REALLY turns the corner until the final episode, but it's a start!**

 **Also, please don't take offense as to how I described Andy. I was only trying to look at him through Angela's eyes. No stereotypes are intended.**


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